Chapter 114

“It’s been a while, Miss Bellote. It’s been four months since graduation, hasn’t it?”  

Elena was still so bewildered that she couldn’t muster any reaction.  

The professor, who smiled kindly at her, gestured behind him. The men who had been chasing her earlier limped forward and grabbed her.  

“Ha, so you dared to mess with me earlier…”  

The man she had attacked earlier gripped her chin roughly. He reeked of a foul odor.  

Elena struggled to break free, but there was no way she could overpower the strength of fully grown men.  

At that moment, the professor warned the men.  

“I told you to handle her carefully.”  

“D*mn it, you cursed mage! How can you say that after seeing this wench attack me?”  

The professor’s previously kind expression turned icy. A large fireball appeared in his hand.  

“She is an important hostage. Without her, our cause cannot be fulfilled.”  

“But…!”  

“If you keep arguing with me, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do next.”  

“Tch.”  

Though reluctant, the man, recognizing the professor as one of the kingdom’s most renowned mages, released her chin. He couldn’t afford to make an enemy of him.  

“Take her away.”  

“Let go of me!”  

Elena twisted and turned with all her might, but it was useless. Annoyed by her resistance, the man hoisted her over his shoulder and retraced his steps.  

Before she knew it, they had arrived back at the prison where she had first woken up. The man threw her onto the bed.  

“Ah!”  

The pain of her twisted wrist flared up again, bringing tears to her eyes.  

“I told you to handle her carefully.”  

The professor, who had followed them, knelt on one knee in front of her and gently touched her wrist. As a green light emanated from the earring he wore, the pain in her wrist gradually subsided.  

Once the pain was completely gone, Elena managed to ask in a trembling voice, 

“Professor.”  

“Yes, Miss Bellote. You must have many questions for me. What would you like to ask?”  

She indeed had many questions.  

Why was the professor here? Why had he kidnapped me? What was his connection to the Anguis?  

But the situation was so absurd that she couldn’t form her thoughts into words.  

The professor, ever patient, leaned against the iron bars and waited for her to speak.  

After some time, Elena finally opened her mouth, her voice trembling.  

“Why are you here, Professor?”  

“Well, that’s a good question.”  

“Did you kidnap me?”  

The professor smiled enigmatically.  

“Technically, it wasn’t me but my comrades who did it.”  

“I thought I was kidnapped by the Anguis…”  

The professor didn’t answer but simply smiled. That smile was answer enough.  

“Professor, are you… part of the Anguis?”  

Elena suddenly remembered the man she had seen in the library, the one associated with the Anguis. Everyone had suspected that there was a collaborator within the academy, and they had assumed it was the late Professor Owen.  

But what if there was another collaborator besides Professor Owen? Someone who could bypass the academy’s protective barriers and allow the Anguis to infiltrate undetected?  

That person could only be Professor Deros, who not only had exceptional skills but also managed the academy’s barriers.  

Suddenly, everything made sense. But questions still lingered.  

“Then why… Is this revenge?”  

The professor burst into laughter.  

“Ah, I’m sorry. That’s just so absurd.”  

The Professor Deros in front of her didn’t seem like the same person she had once known. The professor she remembered would never have said such things.  

“Do you think I kidnapped you for mere revenge? Do you think you’re worth that much? Maybe if it were Sir Christian, but not you.”  

“Then why…”  

“Now it’s my turn to ask questions.”  

Without providing any clear answers, the professor slowly approached her. His eyes gleamed ominously in the darkness, reminiscent of a serpent, the symbol of the Anguis.  

“Where is the child?”  

“What child?”  

The professor gently cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.  

“The child from the future. Didn’t you bring him to the party?”  

“Philly… Are you talking about Philly?”  

Why was Philly being mentioned here? 

As she pondered, she suddenly remembered that Professor Deros had been researching time travel magic with Felix.  

And it seemed the professor had some knowledge of Philly’s existence.  

Was the professor trying to capture the Little One for his research? Did he intend to use Philly to complete his studies?  

But why go to such lengths to finish his research? What did the Anguis have to do with it?  

Her mind raced as she tried to piece everything together.  

“I don’t have him here.”  

“That’s unfortunate. But it’s fine.”  

“What do you mean?” 

The professor leaned in closer, his face mere inches from hers.  

“As long as I have you, the child will appear again. Just as he always has.”  

No, that wouldn’t happen. Little One’s connection to this place was the diary, which was now safely in her room.  

That was a relief. No matter what, Little One wouldn’t come here again.  

‘Thank goodness I sent him away.’  

If she hadn’t, Little One might have been captured and subjected to some strange experiment.  

Experiment…  

Suddenly, her thoughts clicked into place, and she recalled something Penny had once said.  

— Father says the Anguis are preparing for another rebellion.  

— There’s a rumor that the second prince has returned to life. 

At the time, they had laughed it off, wondering how a dead man could return.  

But then she remembered hearing something similar from Felix.  

Felix had said he wanted to use time travel magic to bring back her deceased mother.  

The executed second prince, the Anguis, time travel magic, and Professor Deros…  

When she connected all the seemingly unrelated pieces, the reason for everything became clear.  

“Are you trying to bring the executed second prince back to life using time travel magic?”  

The professor’s smile deepened. Elena continued, her words tumbling out in a rush.  

“Is that why you kidnapped me? To threaten Felix and use Little One to complete the time travel magic?”  

“Your practical skills may be lacking, but your theoretical understanding is quite sharp.”  

Elena shouted in frustration.  

“Don’t drag Felix into this rebellion! Little One won’t come back here, either!”  

“We’ll see about that.”  

The professor suddenly dropped his formal tone, leaning in to whisper in her ear.  

“You may be clever, but what can you do from here? If you want to keep your body intact, it’s best to stay quiet.”  

“….”  

The professor suddenly straightened, as if he had heard something. He gently stroked her cheek.  

“It seems Sir Christian has arrived. Don’t try anything foolish and behave yourself.”  

“Professor!”  

Elena gathered mana in her hands and lunged at him, but she failed again. Before she could even get close, she was thrown to the ground with a crackling sound.  

The professor looked at her pitifully as she lay gasping on the floor, then cast a spell on the cell’s bars and calmly walked away.  

Listening to his footsteps fade, Elena felt tears of frustration well up.  

‘Why am I so…’  

However, there was no time to wallow in pity. She got up from her spot, limping slightly.

She calmly organized the situation in her head.

1. Professor Deros was part of Anguis.
2. The professor had been researching time travel magic with Felix to resurrect the deceased Second Prince.
3. When Felix suggested halting the research, the professor kidnapped her to use Little One as a test subject and to threaten Felix.

At that point, she seemed to understand what had happened in the future from which Little One had come.

“Felix was accused of treason and executed.”

Even without Little One’s warning to ‘beware of the professor,’ she would have vehemently opposed Felix’s involvement in time travel magic research.

Felix would have respected her opinion back then and ultimately abandoned the research. After all, the only reason he had been researching time travel magic in the first place was because of her.

The outcome would have been the same. Even without Little One from the future, Professor Deros—no, Deros—would have needed Felix and would have kidnapped her.

To save her, Felix would have had no choice but to assist Professor Deros in the research, fully aware of the truth.

Eventually, it would have been discovered, and he would have been executed for treason.

Little One had already warned her, yet due to her carelessness, she was on the verge of repeating the same future.

‘No.’

She couldn’t lose Felix. There had to be a way. Some way…….

‘He said Felix had come.’

For now, she needed to escape this place and get to Felix. With that determination, she cast a spell on the iron bar’s lock. However, unlike before, the lock did not open. It seemed the professor had sealed it with magic.

She infused mana into her hand and struck the lock repeatedly. Even though her hands bled from the effort, the lock remained unmoved.

Frustrated, she realized she couldn’t possibly stand up to Professor Deros.

Would I have to wait here for Felix to find me, or worse, watch him join hands with that man, Deros?

‘If only I were a little stronger…….’

Tears blurred her vision. Gripping the bars with her bloodied hands, she wept. A man watching her from outside sneered at her. It was the same man whose shoulder she had earlier struck with a stone.

“See? I told you to behave.”

Realizing she couldn’t escape, he left her alone for a moment.

She glared at his retreating figure. At that moment, she felt something on her thigh. Startled, she quickly reached into her pocket and was shocked by what she found.

“Ginger? Why are you here?”

Ginger clung to her pocket with one hand, dangling, while pointing at her with the other.

“Ah…….”

Come to think of it, she had tucked Ginger into her pocket before heading to the party. Having Ginger with her made her feel slightly calmer.